Bouquet
by TCurry
Summary: Naruto takes a sudden interest in flowers after he returns from his training trip. Or more specifically, the Yamanaka's flowers. Told in Ino's POV. One shot. Naru/Ino


**Hey guys**

**Inspiration slapped me at five this morning so I had to write. Good thing I put it on a notepad until I could get to a computer.**

**Anyway my first Naru/Ino one-shot! Yay! Hope you enjoy if you read.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The only thing I do own is this story**

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It started a few weeks after he returned.

I was working in the shop like always, waiting at the counter for a customer or a friend to come along. It was so boring working the family business that I was contemplating quitting and moving out soon, but then dad wouldn't be happy about that. I was too busy leaning on the counter, toying with my hair, to hear the bell attached to the door ring. When another pair of hands landed on the smooth surface I was leaning on I was a little more than surprised. I looked up to meet his cerulean eyes and wide smile.

"Hey Ino!"

"Naruto? What are you doing here?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, a nervous habit he never seemed to stop. "I came to buy a flower."

"A flower? Only one?"

"Hai. Which ones are good?"

I took him around our small shop, showing which ones I thought were better than others. Naruto paid attention the entire time, and at times his eyes focused on me instead of the flowers. I tried to tell myself that it was only because I was talking at the time. He was too interested in forehead to come after me anyway, and it wasn't like I was interested in him either. In the end he chose to buy one blue lily, a moderately priced flower. When I asked him who it was for he shook his head and told me it was a secret. I pressed him for information as much as I could before we returned to the register but he remained silent on the matter. I waved him goodbye as he left and waited for someone else to come in. The rest of the week went by uneventfully.

It was Wednesday again, the middle of the week. I assumed it was going to be another boring day, until he walked in again. Naruto looked as lost as he did the first time he came. I sighed and motioned for him to come over. He gave me a grateful look as he reached the front register.

"Could you help me find another flower Ino?"

I shook my head. "Not until you tell me who it's for."

"But Ino," he whined.

"Stop whining. Give me a hint and I'll help." I rested my face in my hands and waited.

Naruto appeared to debate with himself for a minute. "Okay. It's a girl."

I groaned. He couldn't come up with anything better than that? Of course it would be a girl, unless he was buying a flower for Sai. I giggled at the the thought. He stared at me, perplexed.

"Why is that funny?" Naruto's innocent blue eyes stared back at me.

"That was obvious, unless you're buying it for Sai-kun."

Naruto made a face that only made me giggle harder. I pulled him around the shop as I pointed out the many different types of flowers and their uses. Once again his eyes were drawn to me instead of the flowers, more so than last time. I ignored it and continued my explanation. Moments later he picked out a yellow daffodil, a simple flower. It was much cheaper than the blue lily he picked out a week ago but I didn't comment. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have much money to start out with because of him being an orphan.

"Thanks Ino!" He waved as he left.

I waved back, a small smile on my face. I had wasted about an hour during that sale. I was grateful to Naruto for that. If anything he made the day go faster when he came by. The week gradually went by and once again, it was Wednesday. This time I stared at the door expectantly, every once and a while switching my eyes to the clock. Naruto walked in right on time five minutes later, the same look of confusion on his face. I beckoned for him to come closer and he complied, smiling all the while.

"You want more help?" I asked.

Naruto nodded. "I want to get one more."

"I need some information then," I said while leaning over the counter.

"Uh. She's...a kunoichi."

I sighed loudly and walked out from behind the register. At least that was something. That limited the number of girls by more than half, but it still wasn't saying much. As I walked him around the shop Naruto stared at all of the flowers, but didn't pick anything. He would stare at one for a few minutes and then switch his attention back to me.

"Do you have any others Ino?"

"There's some more in the back. The prices are higher though," I warned him.

Naruto only shrugged his shoulders and told me to lead the way. Soon we were in the back of the shop staring at the custom grown flowers. I felt a little strange as Naruto's attention was no longer on me, but on the beautiful flowers that lined the shelves. A few minutes later he picked up a rose that had blossomed beautifully enough to be held in the back. He didn't even look at the price tag as he picked it up and headed back to the front. I approached the register warily and stood in front of him. He surprised me when he pulled out enough to cover the rose, and a tip. I waved him goodbye as he left with the same wide smile as always, and I was wearing one of my own. I was actually looking forward to his next visit.

The weeks went by and Naruto kept coming back. Every hint he gave me before I assisted him in locating a flower was insignificant. They weren't revealing enough for me to guess the person. From what I had gathered she was younger than thirty, shorter than him, was nice, had a smaller chest than Tsunade-sama(I smacked him for that one), liked flowers, likes purple(who doesn't?), and some other unnecessary things. He never told me her hair color, color of her eyes, how high her rank was, or anything that could have been useful. Each time he bought the same flowers. Sometimes daffodils, sometimes blue lilies, and on rare occasions, one of our perfectly blossomed roses.

Eleven weeks passed like this. Wednesday was coming up again and this time I was determined to find out who it was. At the same time as always, Naruto walked in, a wide smile on his face. He walked behind the register and waited for me, a signal that he wanted to go to the back. He was unusually silent as I led him through the doorway to the more expensive flowers. Once there Naruto walked in one direction instead of gazing around like he usually did . I followed him without hesitation, eventually arriving where all our roses were located. My mouth opened in shock as he picked up one of the most expensive flowers in the shop, a white rose with red tips. It was a hybrid that we had recently been working on. I had hoped to buy it myself when my father paid me on Friday. Naruto walked back though the doorway and waited at the register.

"That a very expensive flower," I said.

Naruto only shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I need it."

"For this girl?" He nodded.

Naruto brought out the necessary amount and paid it in full. As always he left a tip before he walked to the door.

"Naruto! What about my hint?" I asked.

"I thought I was only supposed to give you one if you helped?"

"Well...I took you back there!"

He chuckled. "She's blond," he said before walking out of the door.

My heart leaped into my throat for a moment. Blond? I mentally counted the kunoichi that had blond hair. Me, Tsunade-sama, and Temari. I counted three times over to make sure I didn't miss anything. If it was me wouldn't he have already given me the flowers though? After my shift I rushed to the Hokage tower and asked permission to use one of the messenger hawks. Minutes later the hawk was on it's way to Suna. Now I only needed to be patient.

In the two days that the hawk was gone I had time to think about Naruto and the possibility of him asking me out. It wasn't impossible. I am one of the better looking kunoichi around here. I was always looking my best when he came around, and I met all of the requirements he listed. Younger than thirty, check. Shorter, nice, liked flowers, check. Likes purple, and smaller than Tsunade-sama. I looked down at my chest to see if I had grown abnormally large breasts over the twelve weeks he had been visiting. Check.

On the third day I went back to the tower to get the hawk. I eagerly grabbed the thing and took the scroll away from it, ignoring it's screeches. Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the letter.

_Ino_

_I am 5'2_

_I like flowers, but only desert lilies_

_Purple is an abomination and should be banished from the earth. Black is better._

_My breast size is my business, but it is certainly smaller than Hokaga-sama's_

_Sabaku No Temari_

I pumped my fist in the air. What was I going to do now though? The flowers were definitely for me but should I accept them? It _was _Naruto, but he had grown in the last few years. He was no longer the small, weak person he used to be. I would be lying to myself if I said he wasn't handsome. Maybe not as much as Sai-kun or Sasuke-kun but still passable. I spent the rest of the week thinking about it.

Wednesday seemed to come slower that week. I looked at the clock and counted the minutes as I worked. It was ten minutes until he would be here. I went over this at least a thousand times in my head, but my heart was still beating rapidly. My head snapped up as the bell rang and in he walked. Naruto was dressed in some black pants and an orange shirt than strangely looked good. A bouquet in white paper was held over his shoulder so that the flowers were not visible to me. My hands started shaking as he came closer and eventually stood in front of me.

"Hey Ino! How are you?"

"I-I'm fine. Who's the bouquet for?"

_'Play it cool.' _I told myself.

"They're uh...for you." His hand went to the back of his head as he handed them to me.

I took one look at the flowers and I couldn't help it.

I laughed.

Naruto's look of confusion only fueled the fire that was my laughter. All of the flowers were in good condition, that much was true. Naruto had arranged them so that the daffodils were at the center, the blue lilies bunched up near them. The roses were scattered all around the bouquet, making it seem messy. Finally the white rose was thrown in the top right part of the bouquet as if it were useless. The mild hurt I saw in his eyes made me stop instantly and I sent him an apologetic look.

"Thank you Naruto. I really appreciate this, but why didn't you ask me for help?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise." He shuffled his feet.

"Well I was very surprised. This really feels like it's from your heart."

"So...did you want to go star gazing or something?" A small blush made it's way to his cheeks.

I nodded and left my post. My mother would be home in a minute anyway, she could take my shift. I walked toward the door where he was standing. As I passed by my lips found their way to his cheek. Naruto blushed a dark red, it made me giggle. The bouquet never left my hand as we walked arm in arm toward the Hokage mountain. It was perfect the way it was.

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**Let's all thank inspiration for this Naru/Ino one-shot, but ask her not to bitch slap TCurry at five in the morning anymore. It's too early for kinky stuff like that.**

**REVIEW!! CRITIQUE!!**


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